One Week Left: CBP Starts Hard-Rejecting Copper Entries on September 14 Over Smelt and Cast Data

If your business imports insulated copper wire or cable, you have one week from today to make sure your entry data is ready — or your shipments could start getting stuck at the ACE gate.

What Happened

On August 31, 2026, CBP's Cargo Systems Messaging Service issued CSMS #69711865. Starting Monday, September 14, 2026, ACE will begin rejecting entry summaries where the copper primary country of smelt and the country of cast are not reported. The error code isn't new — F794 ADDTNL DEC TYPE RQRD FOR ARTICLE has existed since the reporting requirement went live — but until now it functioned only as a warning that let entries through anyway. As of the 14th, it becomes fatal: ACE will refuse to accept the entry summary at all until the missing data is supplied.

This traces back to Presidential Proclamation 11021, "Strengthening Actions Taken to Adjust Imports of Aluminum, Steel, and Copper into the United States," signed April 2, 2026 under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which directed CBP to start collecting smelt and cast country data so it can verify where copper actually originated. CBP rolled the requirement out operationally in CSMS #69252300, effective July 30, 2026, giving importers roughly six weeks of a soft-warning grace period before flipping the switch to a hard rejection.

What It Means for Importers

For most importers, the practical exposure comes down to four tariff lines: HTSUS 8544.42.10, 8544.42.20, 8544.42.90, and 8544.49.10, covering certain insulated copper wire and cable. If your product falls into one of those classifications and originates outside the U.S., your broker now needs the primary smelt country and the cast country on every entry summary line, plus an optional secondary smelt country if more than one applies. The mechanism is the Importer's Additional Declaration Type Code 12 (Copper Smelt and Cast Country Detail), reported through the 54 record. If your supply chain genuinely can't determine the smelt or cast country — common with wire made from recycled scrap or blended feedstock — CBP still allows "OTH" for unknown countries. What you can no longer do after September 14 is leave the field empty and hope the entry clears anyway.

The real risk isn't the paperwork — it's the gap between when most importers first heard about this and when it starts actually blocking cargo. A warning is easy to miss in daily entry volume; a fatal rejection is not. It means the entry summary bounces, your broker has to refile, and depending on your filing cadence that can mean delayed release, demurrage exposure, or a scramble to get smelt/cast data from a supplier who's never been asked for it before.

Practical Next Steps

• Check your last few copper entries now. If you've been seeing an F794 warning and ignoring it, that warning becomes a rejection on Monday. Don't wait for the first bounced entry to find out your data is incomplete.
• Ask your supplier where the copper was smelted and cast — today. This is separate from country of origin and separate from where the wire or cable was manufactured. Many suppliers have never been asked this specific question and may need a few days to trace it through their own supply chain.
• Use "OTH" as a real fallback, not a first resort. It's a legitimate CBP-sanctioned answer for genuinely unknown smelt/cast countries, but reasonable care still applies — don't default to it just because it's easier than asking.
• Loop in your customs broker this week, not next. This is exactly the kind of entry-summary-level compliance gap a broker already tracking your CATAIR reporting can catch before a shipment sits at the port. It's part of a broader pattern under Executive Order 14411 of CBP tightening entry-data requirements with real teeth — similar to the IOR number data crackdown starting September 18 and the broker due-diligence rules we covered previously. If you need help getting your copper entries compliant before the 14th, our team can walk through a compliance review or import quote with you this week.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly changes on September 14, 2026?

ACE will start fatally rejecting entry summaries for certain copper articles (HTSUS 8544.42.10, 8544.42.20, 8544.42.90, 8544.49.10) that don't report the primary country of smelt and country of cast. Previously this triggered only a non-fatal warning (error F794); now the entry summary won't be accepted at all until the data is supplied.

Which copper products are affected?

The requirement applies to copper articles classified under HTSUS 8544.42.10, 8544.42.20, 8544.42.90, and 8544.49.10 — primarily certain insulated copper wire and cable — imported from any country other than the United States.

What if I don't know where the copper was smelted or cast?

You may report "OTH" (other) if that information is genuinely unknown. What you can no longer do after September 14 is leave the field blank.

Is this a new tariff, or just a reporting requirement?

Reporting mechanics, not a new duty rate. The smelt/cast disclosure requirement stems from Proclamation 11021 under Section 232, in effect since July 30, 2026 — September 14 just makes non-compliance a hard rejection instead of a warning.